Separation is Such Sugary Grief
by Little Christian
Summary: The Central Park Zoo has too many penguins! So what are they gonna do about it? See how each little group of penguins cope with being seperated from each other.
1. Chapter 1

**Here's the next story! YAY!**

Ace, Cam, Cleo, Rusty, Gracie, and Omega were entertaining the zoo visitors one afternoon. The adults weren't about. They left that morning after they heard Alice talking on her walkie talkie about how they have too many penguins, and were considering on arranging a transfer. Still not back, Cam took charge of the little rookery and told them to be cute and cuddly. Of course, none of them dared disobey Cam, and they enjoyed being cute for the humans, so they did as she told.

"How can they not be back yet?" Gracie asked Cam.

"I don't know," Cam replied.

That evening, the adults still weren't back, so Cam decided to entertain everyone with a little story. She turned off all the lights, and flipped on a torch under her face, a frightening grin on her beak.

"I'm going to tell you bunch a little story," she began, as she stood on the table. Everyone else sat on the floor and watched, Omega covering his eyes, and snuggling close to Gracie.

"It was a dark and stormy night," Cam told in a soft, creepy voice. "The rain came down in

torrents. The captain said to his mate, 'Spin us a yarn,' and it spun as follows…" She paused for

dramatic effect, then continued, speaking in louder tones. "It was a dark and story night! The

rain came down in torrents! The captain said to his mate, 'Spin us a yarn,' and it spun as

follows." She began speaking with more emphasis. "It was a _dark _and _stormy _night! The _ra-a-i-_

_i-n _came _down _in torrents! The captain to his _mate_, 'Spin _us _a yarn,' and it _spun_ as follows… _It _

_was a dark and stormy ni-_"

"Wait a minute!" Cleo interrupted. "You're just telling the same story over and over!"

Cam jumped down into a sitting position, her feet dangling off the edge of the table. She shone the torch at Cleo.

"Well, yeah, that's how they spun," she said.

"I'm dissatisfied," Cleo scoffed, crossing her flippers stubbornly. Cam rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Fine, I'll tell you a _real _story, then…"

**I don't own the story Cam was telling. My friend told it to me. Pease review! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Next chapter. Enjoy!**

Cam shut off the torch, and lit a small candle, setting it down next to her. The room soon filled with the scent of the sea.

"Scent candle," she said, blowing out the match. "Okay, I am told this is a true story." The audience crowded closer, except Cleo, immediately interested. "Once an old sea captain took his ship for one last voyage around the world, before he retired. He chose ten strong, young men for his crew, hoping to come home with many treasures from far away lands. Clad in his old hat, coat, and boots, he set sail to the far countries. This was in olden times; not many places were discovered yet, and pirates still raided the oceans. When the sailors warned his of these bandits, he simply waved them off, saying they were legends. The cabin boy, Alexander, wished he were as brave as the old captain. Captain Fordiner, he was called, a famous sailor, discovering many lands." Even now, Cleo was engrossed in the story. Cam was glad for a captive audience.

"They sail many miles, many days. Captain Fordiner told them to stop off every island they come across. One day, they docked at a small, dark Island, with dense forests surrounded by the sandy beach. In the middle of the forest, high on a hill, they could see the crumbling towers of an old castle.

'Dock at that island, and we'll explore the castle,' Captain Fordiner said in his British accent. 'There may be treasure hidden in the dungeons.'

'Are ye mad, cap'in?' Alexander asked his Scottish accent thick. 'We can't land on Black Island? It's cursed with the ghosts o' pirate cap'ins from long ago.'

'We'll land there because I said we will," Captain Fordiner said stubbornly. "Need I remind you who the captain is, boy?" Alexander could hardly be called a boy anymore, having just turned nineteen. But he couldn't argue with the captain, so headed below deck."

Just then, they heard the fishbowl door scraped against the concrete ice burg. Gracie gasped, clutching Omega tightly to her chest. Cam quickly blew out the candle, and shone the torch towards the entrance. Skipper squinted in the light.

"What the deuce?" Skipper asked, covering his eyes with his flippers. Rico switched on the lights.

"'Am 'urn t'a' 'or-ch off," he grunted. Cam obeyed, smiling sheepishly.

"Hi, Dad," she said. Skipper nodded in reply, and sniffed the air.

"Why does it smell like we're on the way to Madagascar?" he asked.

"Scented candle," Gracie piped up. "For authenticity."

"That's the biggest word I've heard you say," Cleo pointed out.

"I know," Gracie replied.

"Where were you?" Ace asked.

"Suspicious behaviour at the office," Skipper replied. "Highly confidential." He waved his flippers in front of his face for effect, and then headed into the Lab with Rico and Kowalski. Private took Omega out of Gracie's flippers, taking him to the crib.

"Bed time," he said, though not in his usual perking British voice. No one really noticed the difference, and headed into their room, climbing into their beds.

"Why does Dad always have to be so confidential?" Cam asked as Private tucked her in.

"Because…" Private thought for the right words. "There are some things that you chicks are just too young to know about yet."

"Like what?" Cam asked, sitting up.

"I can't tell you, can I?"

**Now, I do own this story, because I was making it up as I went along. Please review! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

Skipper looked tired the next morning, even after his cup of coffee. When Cam asked about the night before, he simply waved her off, and told her to take the others to Marlene's. Confused, but not daring to disobey, Cam gathered up the other chicks, and they waddled the short distance to the otter habitat through the sewers, so as not to attract the attention of ever-watchful Alice.

"Why did Skippah tell us to go to Marlene's?" Gracie asked.

"I don't know," Cam said.

"And why were he and Daddy and Rico and Kowalski gone so long yesterday?"

"I don't know,"

"And why di-"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

"You don't need to shout…"

"Dude, this sewer stinks!" Rusty complained, holding his beak.

"Don't worry," Cam grumbled. "We're here." She opened the sewer grate, and the five chicks and a hatchling jumped up to see Marlene.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, surprised. "Isn't it about time to be cute and cuddly?"

"Yeah, but Skipper told us to come here," Cleo explained with shrug. "Didn't say why, but all we know is when he says 'Jump' we don't even ask how high, just jump." Everyone started at her extremely confused. Cleo shrugged again. "Perhaps the apprehension of not knowing all the particulars of the circumstances is causing my intelligence to deteriorate."

"I… think not," Ace said.

"I'm dying for a swim," Gracie complained after several minutes of sitting around the cave while Marlene was outside.

"Why not?" Cleo said. "It would be nice. Coming Cam? Boys?"

"We're coming," Ace said.

"Fine," Cam said through gritted beak, sighing. "I'll watch."

As the five chicks and a hatchling emerged from the cave, the crowd gasped. Then everyone started talking, and everyone else started talking over the first people talking, so it was a jumbled of talking, and Gracie had to put her flippers in her ear-holes, and Omega screamed, which sounded more like a squawk to the humans. Alice, unhappy with all the commotion, and already grumpy because six of her penguins were missing, headed over to sort it out.

"Alright, alright, break it up," she said angrily. As the crowd dispersed, she looked to see what the commotion was all about. In the pool were four fluffy chicks, and near the edge of the water were a chick, and a hatchling. Alice grabbed her walkie talkie.

"I found our missing penguins."


	4. Chapter 4

**Here is the next chapter. Enjoy!**

Skipper and the others were surprised and angry when Alice and her assistant came to the habitat carrying six penguin babies.

"What did they do?" Skipper groaned. The chicks were surprised to suddenly be back in their habitat. Omega was fast asleep.

"Okay, now that we have them all," Alice was saying, "we can decide who goes."

"Well if we send the babies, we'll need to send an adult, too," the assistant told her.

"Right, so we can't just send all the young ones, and keep our original four," Alice agreed. "Where are we sending them again?"

"Bronx," the assistant replied. "And Hoboken."

"The Bronx's a run-down old zoo," Alice protested.

"Better than Hoboken."

"Touché. How about this; send the one with the bow, the flat-headed one, and the one with the scarred beak, to Hoboken, send the baby, the feisty one, and the tall one to the Bronx Zoo, and keep the other four."

"Sounds good to me," the assistant agreed. "I'll grab the crates."

"Daddy, what's going on?" Gracie asked, hugging Private, holding onto his flipper. Private looked down at her with sad eyes. When he and the team were at the office the previous night, they had Phil and Mason read some email from the Bronx Zoo, and Hoboken Zoo saying they would each accept three of their penguins. Skipper said to keep this hush-hush from the chicks, and sent them to Marlene's to keep them from Alice that day, but now that it was happening, Private wasn't sure he should keep it a secret anymore.

"I'm afraid they've decided they can't keep all of us anymore," Skipper said, just as Private was about to answer. "They said they can only keep four of us now, since you little ones are growing, and have decided to give some of us to the Bronx Zoo, and the Hoboken Zoo." He shuddered as he said the last two words.

"What?!" Ace and Cam exclaimed simultaneously. "Where are they sending who?"

"Well, the one with the bow is obviously Gracie," Cleo said matter-of-factly. "The scarred one is Rico, and the flat-headed one is you, Skipper. You're all going to the Hoboken Zoo. The feisty one I would suspect would be referring to you, Cam, and the baby is obviously Omega. The tall one is Dad. And the rest, me, Ace, Rusty, and Private, will be staying."

"So we won't even be staying with our own dads?" Rusty groaned. "Aw, man!"

"Everyone, calm down," Cam said. "I know what to do." As Alice and her assistant entered with the crates, she jumped up, and bit the assistant hard on the arm.

"Ouch!" he cried. "Yo, Alice. Here's the feisty one." He yanked her off, and dropped her into a crate.

"That sure worked," Ace said, rolling his eyes. Omega was an easy catch, and after some running around for Kowalski, all the birds headed for Bronx were packed up, and ready to go. Gracie clung to Private, but eventually had to let go. As soon as Skipper was in the crate next to her, she clung to him, instead. Rico put up a fight, but was unsuccessful in avoiding them completely.

"Don't worry!" Skipper said, punching his fist into his flipper. "We'll figure out a way to get back!"

"What do we do with the others?" Alice asked after the truck drove away.

"Put 'em with the otter," her assistant replied. "Won't hurt 'em."

"What?" Private said unhappily. "We don't even get to stay in our own habitat?" Ace shook his head, sighing.

Being stuffed in a box was not at all a pleasant experience for Cam. She couldn't move around. Surely they had gotten a crate too small for this purpose!

"No," Kowalski said when she pointed it out. "These boxes are usually for four penguins." Omega slept the whole trip, but when they finally arrived, he woke up to new sights and smells.

"Great," Cam sighed. "Just great…"

"Why couldn't have I been transferred with Daddy, or even Ome?" Gracie whimpered, lying on her side in the crate.

"I-unno," Rico grunted. "I 'ish I 'as 'ans'erred 'ih 'Usty."

"The twins don't even get to be together," Gracie continued. "I mean, can't Alice see how identical they are?"

"I don't think that heartless mammal even cares," Skipper said darkly, his flat brow furrowing.

"If I were a worker at the zoo, I'd see that all the animals' needs were taken care of," Gracie said decidedly, folding her flippers, and promptly yawning. She soon drifted off to sleep. When they arrived, they could see this zoo wasn't nearly as nice as their zoo.

"Hoboken," Skipper hissed. "How I hate it…"

**Plz Rivu!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Next chappie, sorry for the wait. Enjoy!**

Marlene sighed when Private, Cleo, Rusty and Ace were set in her habitat.

"First they take you out, now they put you back in," she said. "What's going on here?"

"Transfers," was all Private said.

"Where are they others?"

"Bronx and Hoboken."

"Hoboken? Really?"

"Yeah."

"And we couldn't stop them!" Ace said.

"I don't see why, if we're staying here, we can't even be in our own habitat," Cleo sighed.

"From the looks of things, your habitat is off limits," Marlene said, standing on the wall, and looking at the penguin exhibit. The four penguins followed her lead.

"What are they doing?" Rusty muttered, as they watched worker men rope off the habitat and some of the surrounding area.

"Maybe they don't want penguins at all, and are tearing down the habitat," Cleo said. "And they're leaving us here until another zoo offers to take us."

"Well, that sure isn't fair," Ace growled. "Couldn't they have kept us all together?"

"Apparently not."

"I can't believe I'm in Hoboken," Skipper growled. "And living here, too." The three penguins looked around at the Zoo in disgust.

"Skippah, sir," Gracie said. "What if we just got to know the animals here?"

"I know the animals here, Grace," Skipper said angrily, and began counting on his flippers. "There's Hans, Clemson, Savio, Lulu – well, she's actually not evil – and Rhonda." Gracie furrowed her brow, her big green eyes filled with fear.

"You mean Hans?" Gracie asked. "Oh, not him again!" She put her flippers over her eyes as she remembered a past encounter with that not-too-friendly puffin.

"Well, hopefully he won't bother us," Skipper said, then realised what he said. "Then again, knowing Hans…"

"Uncle Skippah, I want to go home!" Gracie sobbed, taking his flipper, and squeezing it. "Please take us home." Skipper looked over to Rico with a helpless expression, but Rico only shrugged.

"Hallo, Skippar," an all-too-familiar voice says. "Velcome to Hoboken! I hope you enjoy your stay…"

"Hans!" Skipper snapped, turning to face him with narrowed eyes.

"Yes, it is I, Han de Puffin, vhom you had sent here to Hoboken. I vanted to make sure your new habitat was satisfactory? Is der anything you need?"

"I think we've got everything we need, Hans," Skipper replied rudely.

"Except maybe a habitat," Gracie pointed out. "In case you haven't noticed that we're actually standing in a cage in the middle of the zoo."

"Oh, I though dat vas your habitat," Hans laughed. "Silly me. I vill come check on you when you are all settled in, nice and comfortable, yes?"

"I'd rather you didn't," Skipper mumbled.

"Okay dokay, I vill come back then. See you later, Skippar!" And with that, Hans hopped away, waving.

"He didn't seem so bad this time," Gracie said.

"Emphasis on the word 'seem', Grace," Skipper replied.

"He was making sure we were comfortable."

"In a cage?!"

"True… but maybe he's really changed this time." Skipper sighed.

"You're sounding too much like your dad, Gracie…" Just then, the zookeeper came over, picked up the cage, and took it to the penguin habitat.

**Please review! :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the long update wait. I have too many stories, and it's overwhelming, so I'll only focus on one at a time, starting with this one! Enjoy!**

"This zoo might not be so bad," Kowalski said, trying to look on the bright side, so Cam won't go into one of her tempers. He'd _really _have his flippers full, then…

"Sure," Cam replied sarcastically. "This'll be a great place to stay… FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES! I mean, _look at this place! _The habitat's are falling apart, the sidewalks are cracked, the animals are starved, and worst of," she slumped in the cage, her flippers crossed, and continued "Dad and Ace aren't here. Yeah, this zoo might not be so bad…" She scowled. Kowalski sighed. She was in one of her tempers…

"Well, at least the animals are nice," Kowalski said. "I mean, that dingo asked us over for lunch tomorrow."

"No, Uncle K," Cam corrected. "He asked us over _for_ lunch."

"That's what I just said-Oh…" The zookeeper picked up the cage, handling it roughly, and tossed it onto a filthy fake ice burg, with water you couldn't see the bottom of, and probably wouldn't want to swim in. The door burst open, and the three birds tumbled out. The zookeeper grabbed the cage and stalked away, muttering something under his breath. Cam took one look at the water, and her phobia grew. She shuddered. Omega sniffed the air.

"I did a 'fingy in my diapa!" he said in a baby voice.

"Two things, pipsqueak," Cam said. "One, you don't wear diapers. And two, that was not you." She pointed to the dirty water in the pool, and Omega crumpled up his little beak.

"Eww," he said. "GRACIE! THE ZOOKEEPERS HAVEN'T CLEANED THE POOL!"

"What's Gracie going to be able to do about it?" Cam asked angrily. "She's. Not. Here!"

"Calm down, Cam," Kowalski said. "We just won't go into the pool… ever…"

"How am I ever going to learn how to swim?" Omega panicked. "Gracie promised to teach me! She also said she'd take me for my first snow-cone as soon as I learn to count to seven! It's a big number, and I don't know what comes after six!" Cam rolled her eyes.

Kowalski cleared out the habitat as best as he could dumping all the old soda cups and popcorn containers people dumped in there into the pool. The rusty fish bowl he tried rinsing in the water, but he thought he probably should have left it as it was. Cam sat flippers crossed, scowling, and muttering how it was waste of time.

"Look, Cam, obviously this zoo doesn't have enough money to run smoothly," Kowalski reasoned. "If we get enough visitors in this zoo, things will be better for us. We just have to be cute and cuddly, like at home."

"Fine," Cam sighed, ruffling Omega's head feathers. She smiled. "I bet we can give this zoo a whole makeover in the meantime!"

"What do you mean?" Kowalski asked.

"I tinker," Cam replied, standing, and picking up Omega. "I'll find things, make little knick-knacks, and see how great I make this zoo look. And you can help me," she added, speaking to Omega.

"If the zoo looks better, maybe more people will come!" Omega pointed out.

"Exactly."

The three penguins looked at their new habitat in Hoboken.

"Well, it's nice," Gracie said. "It's clean, and neat. That's something, I guess."

"It may be something, but we're still in Hoboken," Skipper growled. Gracie sighed.

"I give up!" she groaned. She looked around. The habitat _was _nice; the fake ice burg had a cooling system underneath and made it feel more authentic. The pool was crystal clear, and a beautiful aqua colour. The fence surrounding the large enclosure was gold coloured, and shiny. Maybe this won't be so bad after all. Gracie jumped onto the fence and looked at the neighbouring habitats. One was Hans', who was watching the penguins with interest. Another was an otter habitat, much like Marlene's, housing one small otter. Gracie looked at it with interest. It seemed too small to be an adult, so maybe it was a pup. She turned back to Skipper and Rico.

"I'm going exploring," she said, and left before anyone could stop her.

**Please review! :D  
**


	7. Chapter 7

Marlene and Private set up the cave to accommodate all four of them. They made a make-shift triple bunk bed for the boys and Cleo, and a mat on the floor for Private. Rusty swam in the pool, hoping to take his mind off the fact that he was separated from Rico and the others. Ace sat in a dark corner of the cave, and when he was sure no one was watching him, he pulled out his old baby toy; a stuffed banana, covered in stiches when Gracie sewed it up for him. She was the only one who knew he still had it, and Ace only told her, because he knew she wouldn't laugh. Cleo wandered around the cave, bored out of her brain, and missing her father. She finally sat at the table, and pulled out a little green cube with a big purple button on the front. She pressed it, and rested her head on her flipper as she watched the holographic Kowalski's message play.

The little Kowalski waved and smiled, "Hello, Cleo. I hope you're being a good girl. I love you." Cleo smiled, and played the message again, never tiring of it.

"I love you, too, Dad," she said sadly. Though she had only been three months old when her father gave it to her, she still remembered what he told her.

"If I'm not available, like on a mission, or very, very busy in the lab, this is for you to not miss me too much."

"Sorry to say," she said to herself. "It's not working." She tried to hold back tears, but couldn't as she thought of the possibility she might not see her father again. Private walked over to her, curious on what she was doing.

"Oh, Cleo, what's wrong?" he asked, putting his flipper around her shoulder. Cleo leaned into his hold, tears streaming down her face.

"Dad's not here," she said. "I don't know if I'll see him again. Uncle Private, I want Dad!"

That evening, as they sat at the table for dinner, everyone was unusually quiet. Rusty was moody, Ace was angry, and Cleo was miserable. Private felt helpless. What could he do?

"How about we go for snow cones tomorrow?" he asked, trying to sound cheerful.

"Sure…" Ace grumbled. Rusty only shrugged, and Cleo sighed, pushing her plate of fish away from her.

"I'm not hungry," she said, and headed to bed, climbing into the second-lowest bunk. Rusty followed her example, climbing into the highest.

"Can I have your fish then?" Ace called, grabbing their plates without waiting for an answer. Private sighed, dropping his head in his flippers.

"They'll be fine in the morning," Marlene told him.

"I can only hope," Private said.

Gracie had explored the entire zoo by sundown, except for the young otter's habitat. She looked at the setting sun.

"I have time before lights out," she murmured to herself, and jumped into the habitat. She found a small otter curled up, looking sad.

"Hello," she said gently. The otter startled, and stared at her with frightened light brown eyes.

"Who are you?" he asked. "You're not a snake, are you?"

"No, I'm a penguin," Gracie replied, trying to sound cheerful. "My name's Gracie and I got transferred here with Uncle Skippah and Uncle Rico."

"At least you came with family," the otter muttered.

"They're not really my family. I'm adopted. I come from Central Park Zoo in New York."

"That place is paradise, isn't it?" the otter boy asked.

"I suppose," Gracie answered uncertainly.

"I've always wanted to go there." The otter face palmed. "Sorry!" he said. "My name's Philip. I'm an Asian otter from New Mexico." He held out his dark paw. He had white on his face and chest, and sandy-coloured fur all over the rest of his body, His paws were dark brown, and his nose was black.

"Nice to meet you, Philip," Gracie smiled, shaking his paw. She was thankful for another young animal, so she wouldn't be lonely.

"I have to get back; Uncle Skippah will be waiting for me. Come visit us sometime!" She leaped out of the habitat and back to her own.


	8. Chapter 8

**Three chapters in one night. :D Enjoy!**

The next morning, Cam and Omega gave themselves the grand tour of the Bronx Zoo as they searched for things to make it look better.

"I saw the panther had scraps of fabric," Omega pointed out.

"Those are the garments of his victims," Cam said. "He collects them, and sleeps on them as a sign to all animals he means business." Omega gasped, his amber eyes growing wide.

"Really?" he whispered.

"Of course not," Cam laughed. "He's probably really nice. Let's go see." Omega was reluctant, but followed Cam.

"Ah, bonjour!" the panther called as the young penguins waddled up. "It is good to see other young creatures."

"You're French?" Cam asked.

"No, of course not," the panther laughed. "I'm just messing with you. I'm Wilma. What brings you here?"

"Well, what brings us to this zoo in general is that our old zoo got too overcrowded with penguins. My brother is still over there."

"Isn't this your brother?" Wilma asked, gesturing to Omega.

"No, no, he's Gracie's brother, who's in Hoboken. My brother is at the Central Park Zoo."

"Oh, I see," Wilma said, though clearly didn't. "Anyway, at least you've got other penguins. Here in this zoo it's just me and my cub, Alex. He'll be pleased to meet new playmates."

"We'd love to meet him, but maybe later," Cam said. "We were wondering about those scraps of fabric. Do you need them?"

"Oh, those?" Wilma asked, looking at the pile of colourful cloth. "Those are the garments of my victims. I sleep on them at night to let other animals know I mean business." She laughed, and looked back at Cam and Omega, who had unamused looks on their faces. "Yeah, you can have them."

"Thank you," Cam said, scooping up a flipper-full of fabric.

"What are you gonna use them for?"

"This zoo is dull, and I wanna make it look better, so more people will come."

"And the more people who come, the more money the zoo will get, and the more money the zoo gets, then the humans can fix up the habitats," Omega added.

"When I leave this place, whether it is from going back home, or not, I want to remember it as a clean, well looked-after zoo," Cam said.

"Great idea!" Wilma exclaimed, clapping her paws. "I love it. Hey, if you need any help, let me know, and Alex and I will come do something."

"Thanks."

Tempers were hot at the Central Park Zoo. Cleo and Ace were at each others throats over something, and to make matters worse, Julian invited himself over for breakfast, so Marlene had to cook for more.

"Listen, Cleo, I know you're upset, but that's no reason to take it out on Ace," Private tried to reason with her.

"He started it!" Cleo snapped. "He said crying over the fact Dad's not here is babyish!"

"And it is!" Ace snapped back.

"Says the guy who still has his stuffed banana baby toy!" Cleo yelled.

"I do not!" Ace shouted.

"Do so!"

"DO NOT!"

"DO SO!"

"QUIET!"

Ace and Cleo stared at Private, who took a deep breath to clam himself down.

"Alright," he said. "Ace, it doesn't matter whether you have your stuffed banana or not, and Cleo, it doesn't matter if you're really upset or not. Ace, it's not nice to be a hypocrite."

"What are you talking about?"Ace asked, turning red.

"Don't try and lie to me, Ace, I heard you last night. You were in the corner crying about Skippah."

"Yeah, so… so what?" Private put his flipper around his shoulders.

"It's okay to cry. Just don't make others feel babyish for doing the same. Now apologise to Cleo."

"Cleo, I'm sorry," Ace said.

"Admittance of imperfection acknowledged," Cleo said with a sly smile. She knew Ace always got stumped when she used big words. Ace frowned, trying to understand, but laughed after a moment as Cleo went up and hugged him.

"Where's Rusty?" Marlene asked. "I haven't seen him all morning."

"Probably swimming," Ace said.

"No, he's not there," Marlene replied, shaking her head. "I checked."

"I'll go look for him," Cleo volunteered, heading out of the cave.

**Please review! :D**


	9. Chapter 9

**Four in one night! Enjoy! :D:D:D**

She looked all over the habitat, and even in the other animals' habitats. Rusty was nowhere to be found.

"Maybe he went to our habitat," she thought. "I wouldn't put it past him." She slid to the habitat, and slipped past the humans, doing whatever it was they were doing, and into the HQ. The place was a wreck.

"How could it get so bad in one day?" she wondered aloud.

"I know, right?" Rusty asked, coming out of the Lab. "What are the humans doing, anyway?"

"I have no idea."

"But you're the smart one!" Rusty protested. Cleo gave him a look.

"Maybe, but I still have no idea what they're doing. Why did you come here anyway?"

"Julian's coming for breakfast, right?"

"Fair enough…" Cleo agreed. "But still, I'm sure Uncle Rico wouldn't be happy knowing you were wandering around this place in this state." Rusty looked around the HQ. It was a mess.

"Maybe you're right," he said. "Alright, let's go."

When they got back, Julian and Mort were already there.

"Hello, mini-smarty-penguin, and mini-not-so-vomity-penguin," he greeted. "Bow to your king!"

"All hail King Julian," Rusty said mockingly.

"Why do you not bow to me?" Julian asked Cleo.

"Because you're not our sovereign, nor will you ever be," Cleo replied abruptly.

"No, I am not your sovereign – whatever that is being – I am your king!" Cleo face-flippered herself and groaned.

"Learn some sophisticated English, why don't you?"

"Do not be speaking like that to your king!" Julian snapped, waving a finger in front of her face.

"Leave her alone," Rusty said. "She's not too well today."

"That goes for you, too," Julian added, doing the same. Rusty growled, and bit Julian's finger.

"OWCH!" Julian cried. "Do not be biting your king!"

"Up high, dude!" Ace laughed. He and Rusty high-fived.

"I will be taking my business elsewhere!" Julian exclaimed. "Mort, we will go to the 'panzies for breaking fast." And he strutted regally out of Marlene's cave, Mort bouncing along behind him, laughing happily.

"Well, that got rid of that freak," Rusty said, satisfied with his handiwork. He turned to face Private, who was frowning at him.

"What? He's an annoying freakazoid lemur who's full of himself! He got what he deserved."

"Julian may be a nuisance, but that's no reason to disrespect your elders," Private lectured.

"Ha, Dad would have laughed and pat me on the back for a good job."

"Well, I'm not Rico."

"That's for sure…"

"Rusty!" Cleo scolded. "Uncle Private can't help it if he's got an entirely contradictory individuality of your paternal figure."

"Come again?"

"Private's different from your dad, and there's nothing you can do about it," Ace translated. "Additionally you never know, Uncle Rico might not approve of that behaviour either, Rusty."

"Don't start talking like that geeky beak," Rusty said angrily.

"Don't call her that!"

"Don't tell me what my dad would approve or not!"

"Don't let's fight," Private said, trying to stop it.

"Keep out of it!" Ace and Rusty snapped at him simultaneously.

"QUIET!" Marlene screamed. Everyone shut up, staring at her. "That's better…"

**Por favor comentario! :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**Usted está utilizando este software de traducción de idiomas incorrectamente. Por favor consulte el manual. I mean, five in one! Enjoy! :P**

"Uncle Skippah," Gracie said at breakfast that morning. "What do you suppose Daddy's doing?"

"I have no idea," Skipper grumbled, still fuming inwardly at the fact he was in Hoboken. "Probably having little tea parties with all his little British friends instead of training hard like a good soldier."

"Don't be rude," Gracie said automatically, used to having Cam speak of her father in the same way. She immediately put her flippers to her beak, her jade eyes going wide, as she stared anxiously at Skipper. "Sorry," she squeaked.

"Whatever…" Skipper muttered, rolling his eyes. "Go and play or something. Rico and I will think of a plan to get out of here." Gracie ran out of the habitat, glad to get away from the grumpy Skipper. At least for a while before the zoo opened. She went over to Philip's habitat. The tan coloured otter was excited to see her.

"Hey, Gracie!" he called.

"Hi, Philip."

"What's up?"

"Uncle Skippah's grumpy because we're in Hoboken; Uncle Rico's sad because Rusty's not here; and I'm bored and lonely. What about you?"

"Um… hungry."

"Haven't they fed you yet?" Gracie asked, surprised. "We got way too many fish for us to eat alone."

"Oh, they've fed me, I just don't like oysters," Pip replied.

"Well, come over to our habitat and get some fish."

"I'd love to!"

"Uncle Skippah would want to meet you, anyway," Gracie said. "Come on."

"Who might this be, little soldier?" Skipper asked, gesturing to the otter pup.

"This is Philip, our neighbour," Gracie introduced. "This is Uncle Skippah, and Uncle Rico." She pointed to each in turn.

"Please to make your acquaintance," Pip greeted. Skipper raised a non-existent eyebrow at him, and Pip brought his right hand up to a salute. "Sir."

"I met him yesterday," Gracie explained. "He says he doesn't like oysters, so I thought he might want some of our leftover fish."

"Are you kidding, recruit?!" Skipper bellowed. "Those are our resources in case the zookeepers of this place decide to neglect us! We need to keep all the spare fish we've got."

"'Kippar!" Rico grunted, pointing to Pip, who held his hungry stomach with a mournful expression on his face. Skipper sighed, crossing his flippers.

"It's in the bowl," he said. Pip's face brightened as he scurried over and snatched up a fish, hungrily devouring it.

"Thank you, sir!" he said with his mouth full. Just then, the gates opened, and visitors flooded in. "I'd better get back," he said, grabbing another fish. "Thanks again!" And he slipped off to his own habitat, landing in the pool.

"I don't trust that kid," Skipper said suspiciously. Rico rolled his eyes, and Gracie held her tongue, restraining from saying something about Skipper's paranoia.

"What are we going to do with all this?" Omega asked Cam, and she inspected their pile of trash.

"Not sure yet," Cam replied. "Why don't you go look for more stuff, and maybe see if Wilma has any ideas."

"Okay," Omega said with a shrug. He didn't really want to, but there was nothing else for him to do. He waddled out of the habitat and around the zoo, looking for anything Cam might find useful. He finally came up to the panther habitat to see if Wilma had anything else for them to use. Before entering, he looked around, not seeing the big black cat. He jumped inside, and approached the large cave, hearing a voice from inside.

"Those little penguins look like a tasty meal," the voice said. It sounded like Wilma. Omega gasped as he listened. "The little one might be a bit fluffy, but I'll make do. It will be nice to have a decent meal for once!" He heard her coming out, and he let out a shriek as he hurried back to the habitat as fast as his little legs could carry him.

**Might want a little google translate on that first part... Please review! :D**


	11. Chapter 11

**Enjoy! :D:D:D:D:D:D**

"Cam! Cam!" Omega cried, as he ran into her.

"What? What's wrong?" Cam asked, seeing the panic in his eyes.

"Wilma!" was all he could say, as he was out of breath.

"What about her? Is she hurt?" Omega shook his head, trying to get his breath back.

"She's going to eat us!" he screamed when he did so. Cam gave him a look, similar to Skipper's 'I'm-not-buying-it' face, and crossed her flippers. Omega groaned.

"Cam, I swear it's true!" he cried.

"Swearing is bad, Omega," Cam replied sternly. Omega face-flippered.

"You know what I mean!"

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't," Cam snapped. Then she saw Omega's look of frustration. "Wilma's not bad," she said. "She's nice."

"If you heard what I heard you won't say that so surely," Omega grumbled, crossing his flippers. Cam rolled her eyes.

"Fine!" Omega shouted, stamping his foot. "I'll go back, and take my tape recorder, and _prove _to you she's evil!"

"Wow, won't Gracie be proud of me for looking after you so well?" Cam asked sarcastically. Omega growled, and stormed off, grabbing his tape recorder as he went. Cam watched his go and sighed.

"Stubborn little tyke."

Omega hid outside the cave, hoping Wilma will talk about how they would make a great meal. When he didn't hear her, he crept inside, looking around in the dark. Surprisingly, he could see fine, especially when a pair of glowing yellow eyes stared back at him.

"Hello, little penguin," Wilma hissed licking her chops. "Pleased you could stop by… For _dinner!_"

"Oh, help…" Omega squeaked, and he tried to run away, but Wilma grabbed him by his tail feathers, and lifted him over her head.

"Down the hatch!" she laughed, and let him go.

"NOOO!" Omega screamed, as she bared her teeth, and he dropped into her jaws. At least, he would have, if her jaws were there to drop into. He landed on her back with a thud, and rolled off.

"HIYAH!" Cam cried as she karate-kicked Wilma in the neck. Omega dropped on her back, and rolled onto the ground.

"Cammy!" Omega cried.

"Shut your trap and tell Uncle K we have to go ASAP!" Cam yelled, as she tried to knock out Wilma. The panther was tough, so she went for her last resort – the one she hated the most. The only training technique taught by Private…

_The quantum-hyper-cute!*_

She stood in the cave, staring at the panther, before…

**_BOOSH_**

Wilma 'awed' and fainted. Cam took her chance to escape, and slid out of the cave back to the penguin habitat.

When she got there, Kowalski and Omega were ready to leave right then.

"If there's a panther out to get you, we'd better go now," Kowalski said. "Skipper would not be happy if I let you get eaten."

"Likewise," Cam agreed. "I wouldn't be in high spirits, either."

_*After seeing the effects of that move, Skipper had made a rule that the chicks must learn it as a last resort. Private, though complaining a lot, agreed, after Skipper convinced him that it would be best to have as an alternative, in case all else failed. So he taught them. For Gracie, it came naturally, and she said she'd teach Omega when he was older, to save Private the trouble._

**Please re of the view ****variety**. :D


	12. Chapter 12

**Enjoy! :D:D:D:D:D:D:D**

Gracie sighed as she stared into the pool at Hoboken. Sure it was nice, she thought, but it wasn't home. She missed Private, and Omega, and everyone. And now, Skipper had banned her from seeing her only friend here, just because he didn't trust him. So, as you can imagine, she was bored out of her naïve little brain. Skipper and Rico were on recon, scouting for any 'suspicious characters' or so Skipper told her. Just then, Hans jumped into the habitat, a smile on his puffin-y face.

"Hallo, little penguin," he said, sounding cheery.

"What do you want?" Gracie grumbled.

"I just vanted to come by, and say hallo."

"You did that, now be gone."

"You're not in a very good mood, are you?" Hans asked. Gracie looked up at him.

"No, I'm not, and I'm also not in the mood for talking with puffins that kidnapped me either."

"Yes, dat is understandable," Hans agreed. "I just want to let Skippar know I have not forgotten dat he is here."

"And I sure hope we won't be here any longer," Skipper growled from behind the puffin. "Leave Grace alone."

"Hallo, Skippar," Hans said with a friendly wave, as he turned around.

Gracie growled softly, annoyed that he was not leaving. She stood up, and, with a hard shove, pushed him into the pool.

"Oh, vhat vas dat for?" Hans asked, offended.

"Just go away!" Gracie snapped.

"Fine, fine, I vas only being neighbourly…" Hans grumbled, as he climbed out of the pool, and walked off. Gracie wrinkled her beak.

"Sorry, Uncle Skippah, I-"

"No need to apologise, little soldier," Skipper said, smirking. "I've wanted to do that to Hans for a long time." Gracie grinned.

"Still," she said. "It wasn't a very nice thing to do." Skipper sighed, and looked at Rico.

"We gotta get her away from Private more often," he said.

Philip snuck to the penguin habitat later that evening. Skipper and Rico weren't around.

"Hey, Gracie!" he called.

"You're not supposed to be here!" Gracie hissed, looking around for any signs of Skipper or Rico. "What do you want?"

"I saw Hans here earlier, and I saw you push him into the pool," Pip replied.

"And?"

"Why'd ya do that? Hans is one of my buddies."

"He's Uncle Skippah's worst enemy," Gracie replied. "He was glad I did that – though I did feel bad afterwards."

"What?!" Pip exclaimed. "Your uncle hates Hans?"

"Yeah…"

"That's it!" Pip snapped. "You and I can't be friends." He turned to leave.

"What do you mean?" Gracie asked, very confused.

"If your uncle doesn't like my buddy Hans, then you and I can't be friends."

"But that doesn't make sense," Gracie said. "Just because elders we know have conflict between them, doesn't affect an association between two others. Or at least it shouldn't."

"Your point?" Pip asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well… that is my point," Gracie said with a shrug.

"I told you not to associate with this kid, Gracie," Skipper's stern voice said, as he and Rico flipped into the habitat.

"He came on his own!" Gracie quickly exclaimed. "I told him he shouldn't be here, and-"

"You hate Hans!" Pip yelled accusingly.

"Yeah, so what?" Skipper shot back, glaring at the intruder.

"He's one of my best friends. He told me about a penguin he hated, but I had no idea it was _you!_"

"Well it is, and what are you going to do about it?" Pip just glared, before quickly leaving the habitat, not wanting to challenge this guy. Gracie watched him go in dismay. Now what was she going to do?

**Please review! :D**


	13. Chapter 13

**And the last chapter! Enjoy! :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D**

"Daddy!" Skipper whipped around to see Cam belly-sliding up to him, and he caught her in his arms.

"What are you doing here?" Skipper asked, chuckling, delighted to see his adopted daughter again. Cam snuggled against his feathers, tingling all over with warmth and comfort.

"Bronx wasn't… our cup of tea…" She smiled. "Actually the panther there that seemed really, really, nice wasn't so nice, and wanted to eat Ome and me." Skipper stared at her as Kowalski and Omega caught up with them.

"I'll explain to you later," Kowalski said.

"Where's Grace?" Omega asked.

"Moping," Skipper told him, nodding towards the opposite end of the fairly large habitat. "Over there." He let Cam down, and the chick and hatchling raced to their friend.

"Gracie!" Omega cried, as he pounced on her. Grace didn't have time to react, and found herself surfacing from the pool, and saw Cam fishing a fully-soaked, half-drowned Omega from the water.

"What in the world?" she asked, grinning from ear-hole to ear-hole. "Bronx too lonely for you?"

"Nah, it just didn't appeal to us," Cam replied coolly.

"The real story is much more interesting," Omega said. Gracie climbed out of the pool, took her bow of her feathers, squeezed it out, and put it back in place.

"I hear that place is a dump," she said. "Or was it something else?"

"A panther wanted to-" Omega began, before Cam slapped a wing over his beak.

"Nothing," she said, grinning sheepishly. Gracie raised a non-existent eyebrow, but just rolled her eyes and said nothing.

"What about you? Has life been well here in Hoboken?"

"As good as it can when your uncle is paranoid and your only friend besides to be your ex-only friend," Gracie shrugged.

"What?"

"I met this otter kid, who seemed nice, but Uncle Skippah didn't trust him, and when he found out we disliked Hans, he decided not to be friends."

"Shame," Cam tutted, shaking her head. Gracie only shrugged again, as tears formed in her eyes.

"Yeah…" she said in a shaky voice. "But all I want is to go home to Daddy and Rusty and Cleo and Ace. I miss them." Omega's beak trembled, and he clung onto her flipper.

"Don't cry, Gracie!" he begged. "I hate it when you cry!" Gracie wiped her eyes, and picked him up.

"Okay, Ome, I won't cry," she said smiling.

Private took the chicks out for snow cones, which cheered them up a bit… Just a smidgen. Ace suggested they have a paintball fight, but Cleo and Rusty quickly turned down the idea. Cleo wanted to go to the Lab, but their previous habitat was already just a pile of rubble with an empty pool.

"We can't live with the otter forever," Cleo said, as the three chicks sat in the park, licking their cones. "Sooner or later we'd all need to be transferred." She looked at the boys, whose faces looked as sad as hers.

"Maybe we'll be sent to some dangerous zoo and end up like Manfreedi and Johnson," Ace said gloomily.

"Uncle Skip told me he was going to name you and your sister Manfreedia and Johnson," Cleo randomly stated.

"That felt like a bit of a red herring," Ace replied, perking up a bit. "You dad told me you sucked your flipper in your sleep when you were a hatchling."

"And you still do," Rusty couldn't help but add. Cleo went bright red, and Ace felt bad for the discomfort he caused her.

"And you," he turned to Rusty, "used to sing the Lunacorns theme song whenever Gracie watched it." Rusty scowled, but started to chuckle.

"I remember that," he laughed. "Gracie loved it."

"Remember that time you accidentally stepped all over her crayons?" Cleo asked Ace. "She wouldn't speak to you until you got her new ones, and when you gave them to her, she burst into tears exclaiming how sorry she was for being so rude."

"She's so sensitive," Rusty recalled. "That was the hardest two days of her life."

"What about our first swimming lesson?" Ace asked. "Poor old Cam was so scared when Dad tried to get her in the water she threw up."

"I remember that," Rusty nodded. "All too well…"

"That's right…" Cleo laughed. "It was _you _she threw up on!"

"I miss them," Ace sighed.

"Me too," Cleo agreed. Rusty nodded.

The chicks spent the rest of the afternoon in the park remembering all the good times and the bad times when the five – or six, now with Omega – were all together. In fact, that's what Cam, Omega, and Gracie were doing at the moment, at the Hoboken Zoo.

**N'awww... they're still not together... But, there will be a sequel... A one-shot... In fact, I'll write that now! D: !weiver esaelP**


End file.
